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Welcome to my last post on this TRIP in science. 3 months ago, when I initially started my journey at TRIP, I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to research. The possibilities were endless, but the amazing instructors in the program helped me decide what I truly wanted. I studied the intergenerational effects of blue light and an anxiety-relief herbal medicine, called Ashwagandha, (a mouthful I know) on flies. I was able to find some very intriguing results. But to find this data, came along the journey I embarked on this program. First, I decided to test the direct effects of blue light on the parental generation of flies, so that (1) I can verify that blue light exposure involves some sort of stress related change(2) so that I can connect the direct effects of blue light and Ashwagandha to any indirect effects it has on the progeny (3) so that I can see if Ashwagandha reverses the direct effect of blue light exposure. To accomplish this, I ran the open field test, which quantifies anxiety levels by looking at where the fly is in a petri dish. Through this, I was able to find that direct blue light exposure to adult flies for 7 hours a day leads to increased anxiety levels and that Ashwagandha administration with blue light exposure can alleviate its effects. (Looks like we should limit our screen time).  Next, I looked at the health of the progeny that these directly exposed parents produced. These progeny were not exposed to blue light or ashwagandha themselves, only their parents were. I looked at the health levels by measuring the activity levels of the progeny, measuring how far they traveled over a one minute period. With this, I found that blue light exposure in parents leads to more active progeny while the combination of these two leads to less active progeny. (Do we need to sacrifice our own health to make our future kids more energetic?) To conclude, in this trip program, I gained knowledge of various laboratory techniques, how to share my findings with the community, collaborate with others, and how to think critically  To conclude, in this trip program, I gained knowledge of various laboratory techniques, how to share my findings with the community, collaborate with others, and how to think critically. With this, I was able to not only gain knowledge but also participate in the scientific community with my research. I am greatly thankful for all of those in the program that made my 3 month TRIP exciting, collaborative and fun! Although this is my last post, my TRIP in science has just started.
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It’s hard to believe that the last few months at TRIP went by so quickly! My experience at TRIP has taught me so much, and I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to work with and meet so many amazing people through the program. I remember being extremely nervous when I first entered the lab; I didn’t know what to expect. However, as the program went on, I became more confident in my abilities, both laboratory and presentation wise.  I tested if Vitamin E could repair memory damage done by kratom, an opioid-like drug that is becoming increasingly common in the United States  For my independent project, I tested if Vitamin E could repair memory damage done by kratom, an opioid-like drug that is becoming increasingly common in the United States. I specifically wanted to look at how drugs can impact cognitive function in developing brains, so I decided to use larvae because they are developing flies. Also, I decided to use Vitamin E to improve memory because it is in high concentrations in almonds, which my parents have always told me are good for memory. My experiment had 4 vials; one was a control, one had just kratom in it, one had just Vitamin E in it, and one was both kratom and Vitamin E in it. Each vial had 40 females and 20 males, adding up to a total of 60 flies in each vial. After 7 days, I removed the larvae from the vials and tested them using the Larval Memory Assay, which tested the memory of the larvae by seeing how well they could associate a scent with the presence of food. To do this, I had one sugarless agar plate with a pineapple scent and a sugared agar plate with a banana scent. After training the larvae to associate the banana scent with the presence of food, I placed them on a test plate, which had one of each scent on either side. After 5 minutes, if the larvae chose the side with the banana scent, they had functioning memories. While I initially found my assay tough to perform at first, I got the hang of it after a while. I often had to come in early to make sure I had enough time, but it was worth it because I got to perform such an interesting experiment. I also was able to develop my multitasking skills, as I often had to track multiple timers and agar plates while performing my experiment.  Overall, my experience with TRIP was one that I am extremely thankful for. I will always cherish the memories that I made with my peers. I want to thank Dr. Leystra, Dr. Purdy, Dr. Valdes, Mr. Cozzone, Anoosha, Niki, and all of my peers for making this program such an incredible experience. Goodbye!
With exciting turns, independent projects, spilling Red 40 all over the floor, and our symposium presentations, it is safe to say that I am officially a member of the TRIP@WTHS24’ class. These past few months have been filled with a variety of different fun challenges, and I couldn’t be more excited to share them with you!  From a young age, I’ve always been interested in the mysteries of the world. It’s one of the reasons I believe I’m so compelled by everything science From a young age, I’ve always been interested in the mysteries of the world. It’s one of the reasons I believe I’m so compelled by everything science, especially the research portion of creating an experiment and incorporating it into something meaningful. For my independent project, I focused on the effects of Red 40 on hyperactivity, and whether or not it could be counteracted by the natural supplement licorice. One of the most important aspects of designing my question, and molding it into a project I would be proud to present, was making it meaningful. To the audience, to myself, and to the fruit flies…especially to the fruit flies. Red 40 is a synthetic food dye, and contains benzene, which is a natural cancer causing substance. It is in so many of the foods we consume on a daily basis, and many do not know the harmful properties it contains. With that in mind, I had found my meaning for this project. Red 40 was proven to be dangerous, but could it be counteracted with a natural supplement over time?  Red 40, as expected, caused a large increase in the hyperactivity in flies tested. Licorice, as the natural supplement used to counteract the food dye, also did its job. I found that while there was still an increased percentage of hyperactivity in the Red 40 + licorice vial, it was severely diminished in comparison to the Red 40 vial by itself. Throughout these past few months, data wasn’t the only thing I collected. I collected the communicative skills to speak to my peers and my instructors efficiently. I collected presentation skills that I will be able to use in future projects. I collected the information and knowledge of being a researcher in a lab, and the responsibilities and challenges that come with it. My experience at TRIP has been one that has been full of fun adventures, and I am bittersweet to say that it has come to an end. The amazing people I collaborated with every Saturday, and the instructors that were always attentive and willing to help in any way they could, showed me that you can still have an amazing time while completing work efficiently. Thank you to Dr. Leystra, Dr. Purdy, Austin and Anoosha, and my peers for making this experience worthwhile!!
 Hello everyone! My name is Gurnoor, and this is my final blog post for the TRIP initiative. Upon the conclusion of an amazing three-month TRIP, I look back on the knowledge I have gained, the community I became a part of, and the experience of a lifetime I have had. Coming into TRIP, I could not tell a female and male fly apart, but now I can proudly say I have conducted an independent project sorting over 1000 of them!
My independent research project investigated the effect of overcrowding on fertility and progeny health. This project was inspired by some background research that revealed urban infertility rates were more significant than rural infertility rates, leading me to wonder why this occurred. I narrowed it down to a significant difference between the two locations: population. In order to analyze the impact this stressor had on fertility, I set up a control vial with the standard amount of food and 20 males and 40 females, along with a stressed vial containing the same quantity of flies but double the amount of food so the population density within that vial was greater. I then conducted the female fertility assay to calculate an embryo per female ratio of each vial, revealing that the stressor had no impact on fertility. However, after calculating the % hatching for each vial, I realized that a significantly smaller proportion of the embryos in the stressed vial hatched into larvae. This led me to conclude that though population had no impact on fertility, it did affect the health of the progeny negatively. This realization led me to another question: Could we counteract this negative effect with dietary supplements?  In order to answer my new question, I set up three additional vials: one containing Fenugreek, one containing Shatavri, and one stressed vial containing both herbs. I chose these herbs as they have both been linked to hormonal balance and an increase in estrogen, which correlate to a higher fertility rate. Each week, I continued performing the female fertility and analyzed each vial's embryo/female ratios and % hatching rate. My results indicated that while Shatavari had no impact on fertility, Fenugreek had a significant impact. Additionally, though Shatavari had no impact on fertility, it greatly positively affected the health of the progeny along with Fenugreek. Finally, both of these herbs, when incorporated in the overpopulated vial, could counteract the stressor's negative effects and rescue the health of the progeny. Throughout conducting this project, I gained confidence in myself as a researcher and my ability to present my work at the symposium Throughout conducting this project, I gained confidence in myself as a researcher and my ability to present my work at the symposium. I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and thankful to all the mentors who guided me along the way. I am confident that the work I did at TRIP will be valuable to any future work I do as a researcher or in the medical field.
Time has flown by so quickly! It feels like just yesterday I stepped into the lab, brimming with excitement, and now here I am, writing my final blog. These past three months have been an incredibly surreal experience during which I’ve gained invaluable knowledge, which will undoubtedly benefit me in my future career.
both melatonin and a disrupted sleep schedule would increase anxiety levels when utilized individually and together Through my 5 trials, a consistent trend emerged in the data: both melatonin and a disrupted sleep schedule would increase anxiety levels when utilized individually and together. Regarding fertility and embryos health, a high dose of melatonin decreased fertility and embryo health while disrupted sleep increased them. However, when combined, they decreased fertility and embryo health.  My time here at TRIP has been incredibly enriching, exposing me to lab and hypothesis-based research. The knowledge and experiences I’ve made here will stay with me for a lifetime, and I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to explore and learn. Thank you again to Dr. Leystra, Dr. Purdy, Dr. Valdes, Mr. Cozzone, our amazing TAs Anoosha and Niki, and my fellow TRIP classmates for making this experience unforgettable. Thank you for following my journey throughout TRIP these past few months!
Signing off one last time -Amritha Sakamuri  How time has flown… I can not believe that I am writing my last blog post and have concluded my journey with TRIP. The day I first stepped into the lab really feels like yesterday. However, I have come a long way since the beginning of TRIP. I have mastered basic laboratory techniques such as micro pipetting and sorting flies. Moreover, I have designed and completed my own independent project that addressed an original research question. To me, that is something super special and fulfilling as actually researching and answering a question that I am truly interested in is an opportunity that I am rarely able to pursue both in school and out of school. By providing such an opportunity, TRIP has provided me with invaluable insights into the research process and has shown me a glimpse of what my future as a scientist will look like. And for that, I’m eternally grateful.  As I had covered in my previous blog post, my independent project studied the effect of microbiome health on motility. I am asking this question as it is a known fact that many relevant and common environmental factors, such as stress and lack of sleep, can reduce microbiome diversity, so I would like to study the specific effects of a compromised microbiome on health. I picked to study motility in particular as I wanted to study the extent to which microbiome health is impactful since I don’t think that microbiome health and activity are the most directly related. Moreover, a characteristic of modern society is its lack of physical activity, and I would want to see if this societal trend may be in part caused by the possible decreased motility from an unhealthy microbiome. To actually test this, I performed the negative geotaxis assay and larval locomotion assay in addition to collecting developmental data along the way. I found that an unhealthy microbiome causes decreased activity and a healthy microbiome causes increased activity. In addition, a cool little nuance that I discovered was that probiotics can help rescue antibiotic-compromised activity, but in adults only, not in larvae. This is something intriguing that I would like to further research if I get the opportunity to do so. As you can see, although my curiosity was satiated by conducting this research, the process and results opened up a whole new set of curiosities that I am itching to satisfy. I think the beauty of research lies in that, and TRIP has provided a wonderful gateway for an aspiring scientist like myself to explore the realm of research.
Overall, TRIP has truly been one of the moments of my high school journey that I will cherish because of the amazing research and instruction and the incredible people I was able to meet along the way. I learned unique skills such as how to persevere and think through failure. I also learned how to tell a compelling story with my research by framing it in a certain way. I thank Dr. Leystra, Dr. Purdy, Dr. Valdes, Mr. Cozzone, Anoosha, and Niki for guiding me and my peers throughout this TRIP. I also thank my labmates for being the most wonderful companions and yappers.
Signing off now, Austin Choi Hi everyone! My name is Phoebe Ting, and I am a junior at Bensalem High School. I have lived here my entire life with my parents and my sister, and I love it here!
 At school, I am the captain of the varsity swim team, which is what I spend the majority of my time doing… Seriously, I’ve been swimming since before I could walk. I love the self-discipline that comes with the sport as well as the time I get to spend with my friends. I’m also involved in the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA), Mathletes, and the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS). Through conducting experiments and presenting my findings to judges, PJAS has majorly influenced my decision to pursue a career in STEM and join the TRIP program. I am also passionate about giving back to my community as I’m a member and served as the secretary of my school’s Community Service Club. I enjoy combining this passion for helping the community and my love for creativity in student government, where I plan and design school events to boost spirit and morale. Additionally, as a part of my school’s mock trial team, I currently portray a food critic blogger, which is VERY on-brand for me. I enjoy trying out new restaurants -- though, Chipotle will always be my comfort food. Outside of school, I am a certified Emergency Medical Technician, which allows me to have a hands-on application and real-world experience of topics I’ve learned in school. I also volunteer in a children’s hospital in my free time where I can connect with people in my community by doing the thing I love to do most: talking. I am also looking forward to combining my love for swimming and helping others by teaching swim lessons to kids. Although I know I want to pursue a career in STEM, I’m not entirely sure what I want to do, so I’m grateful that TRIP gives me the opportunity to explore my interests. I’m looking forward to this experience to be able to design an independent research question and carry out an experiment. For my kickoff experiment, I will be measuring how Valerian and disrupted circadian rhythms affect sociability. Although we’ve only had one week of class so far, I can’t wait to see what the rest of this program has in store for me. I’m already having so much fun, and I can’t wait to learn more!
I found that soap decreased motility, as predicted by my hypothesis, and that Vitamin D3 essentially had no effect on motility, proving the latter part of my hypothesis wrong. After the experiment, I made a slideshow presenting my project and its results. The process of creating the slideshow and Dr. Leystra and Dr. Valdes’ insightful comments taught me how to present my findings to not my peers but also a more general audience. Overall, this kickoff experiment exposed me to what my independent project will be like, whether it be making drug stocks, performing assays, collecting and analyzing data, or presenting.  For my independent project, I decided to study the effect of microbiome health on motility. I chose this topic as many aspects of our lifestyles can lead to decreased microbiome health, such as stress, lack of sleep, diet, inactivity, and improper antibiotic use. I decided to study the effect on motility as it is not directly correlated to microbiome health, and I think it would be interesting to see how overarching the effects of poor microfloral health can be. To answer my research question, I plan to create 4 groups of flies (control, pro/prebiotic-exposed, antibiotic-exposed, and pro/prebiotic + antibiotic-exposed) and perform the negative geotaxis and larval locomotion assays on them to collect data on the magnitude of their movement. I will start this process next week and I am BEYOND excited!  Until next time.
Hi everyone! I’m back, and I can’t believe we’re already halfway through the TRIP program. I have learned so much in the past few weeks, from how to transfer and sort flies to different behavioral assays. My favorite part so far has been presenting my kickoff experiment to my peers. For this experiment, I studied the effects of Valerian and disrupted circadian rhythms on the sociability of fruit flies. To determine the sociability levels of the fruit flies, I placed them in chambers and calculated their distance after 15 minutes; the closer the distance between the flies, the more social they were. I found that Valerian increased sociability and constant darkness in flies (a.k.a disrupted circadian rhythms) decreased sociability.  This piqued my interest in sleep deprivation, especially because of its relevance among teenagers. It feels like all high schoolers are constantly lacking sleep and self-medicating with coffee and energy drinks despite the potential negative effects. Naturally, I fell down a rabbit hole of researching energy drinks and their effects. Initially, I planned to study how sleep deprivation and energy drinks affect cognitive function for my independent research project. However, after discussing this idea with the instructors, I decided to tweak my project to focus specifically on energy drinks and their short-term and transgenerational effects on fruit fly motility. To study this, I will be performing the negative geotaxis and larval locomotion assays. I’m excited to see whether there are differences in motility between the short-term and transgenerational flies. I can’t wait to share my results in the next post!!
I can proudly say I’ve been a “lawyer” for the past two years. If I were to tell the story of how I joined the Mock Trial team, it would take a whole day, but I can keep it short and sweet; I remember passing objection notes to my brother from the corner of his desk while he faced the computer screen. This was during his online Mock Trial “trial.” Ever since those days, I’ve held onto my goal of competing at mock trials until I graduate. If it isn’t obvious yet, it’s one of my favorite communities. In three days, it will be our second round of competition, so we have been busy preparing nonstop. Wish us luck!  Speaking of community, I feel myself most attached to my Muslim brothers and sisters out there. I don’t see many at my school, so I was excited to meet a hijabi at TRIP yesterday! I’m sure there are Muslims at my school that I haven’t had the chance to meet, so I’m in the process of starting a Muslim School Association (MSA) club by the end of this month. At the beginning of my high school career this year, I was eager to be a part of the MSA to connect with other Muslims. It’s common in other schools, but East didn’t have one yet, so now I’ve made it my goal to establish one as soon as possible. Hopefully, it will expand into a larger community as time goes by. By the end of these blogs, this club will be up and running.
Yesterday was our first day of TRIP. It was an exciting experience since I got to meet both of the directors, Dr. Leystra and Dr. Purdy, the teaching instructors, Dr. Valdes and Mr. Cozzone, and the teaching assistants, Anoosha and Niki. We got to try out the micropipettes and set up our drugs and stressors which we will be testing next class. At the beginning, I was nervous but as time progressed, we got to see a glimpse of what awaited us for the next three months. I can already tell we’ll make great memories with the team as I have met many goal-driven people. By working together, we’ll develop strong collaboration skills and leave Trip with useful ideas. I might start at zero today, but I aim to reach higher by the end of this trip. I’ve come here to sharpen my thinking skills and stretch my capabilities by challenging myself with the knowledge that I know I can achieve if I work hard enough. I truly want to make use of every opportunity that’s provided in this program.  |
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